Morgan County Law Enforcement Leaders Urge Expansion of Quality Pre-K to Cut Crime
Sep 3rd 2009
Jacksonville, Il - Morgan County Sheriff Randy Duvendack visited a preschool class in Jacksonville today to call for expanding the availability of quality preschool in Morgan County. He read a story to the preschoolers who attend Our Redeemer Day Care.
The Sheriff called on the General Assembly and Governor Quinn to maintain the funding needed to assure the quality of Morgan County's preschool program. He pointed to evidence that high quality preschool cuts future violent crime and saves money. He also expressed concern over the ten percent budget cut imposed on all Illinois preschool programs, including preschool providers in Morgan county, by the state's leaders in July. While it appears that no child will lose preschool in Morgan County, continued cuts will impact the ability of providers to offer high quality programming.
"I would much rather see us invest in children when they are young," said Morgan County Sheriff Randy Duvendack, "than pay the cost of housing them in my jail or a state prison as adults. High quality preschool improves the chances that children will grow up to be successful, productive, law-abiding adults. We need to make sure more kids have the opportunity to benefit from preschool."
Over the past seven years, Illinois has made great strides in expanding preschool opportunities for families. With recent expansion of the Preschool for All Program, preschool providers in Morgan County have added over 230 slots for 3-and 4-year olds, increasing the number of children enrolled in state-funded preschool to 390 since 2001.
Still, there are far too many families unable to access high quality programs because of cost. In Morgan County there remain nearly 180 3- and 4-year-olds in families who cannot afford to pay for quality preschool on their own.
Law enforcement's experience and rigorous research supports the value of pre-kindergarten. A study of the Perry Preschool in Michigan tracked at-risk children who attended the program and similar children who did not attend. At age 27, those who did not attend as children were five times more likely to have been arrested for drug felonies and twice as likely to have been arrested for violent crimes. Another study of the publicly funded Child-Parent Centers in Chicago, which have provided early care and education to more than 100,000 children since 1967, found that kids left out of the program were 70 percent more likely to have been arrested by age 18 than those who participated.
"The research is compelling. Early childhood is a crucial time when we form the core of conscience, develop the ability to trust and relate to others, and lay down the foundation for life-long learning and thinking. The evidence tells us that quality preschool has a real and significant impact on cutting crime," said FIGHT CRIME: INVEST IN KIDS ILLINOIS Deputy Director Ben Peck.
FIGHT CRIME: INVEST IN KIDS ILLINOIS is the state office of a national, non-profit bipartisan, anti-crime organization of more than 5,000 police chiefs, sheriffs, prosecutors, leaders of law enforcement organizations, and victims of violence. It has over 300 members in Illinois.
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